International Journal of Steel Structures September 2012, Vol 12, No 3, 391-401 DOI 10.

1007/s13296-012-3008-4

www.springer.com/journal/13296

Experimental Study on the Bend and Shear Behaviors of Steel-concrete Composite Beams with Notched Web of Inverted T-shaped Steel Section
Guo-Qiang Li1,2, Xianhui Li3, and Liang Li4*
1

Professor, State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University, China 2 Professor, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, China 3 Ph.D. Student, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, China 4 Lecturer, College of Civil Engineering, Changan University, China

Abstract A new steel-concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section is proposed in this paper. This composite beam is composed of concrete slab and inverted T-shaped steel beam. Experimental studies on the bend and shear behavior of the composite beam are conducted. Four specimens are tested to investigate the bend behavior of the novel composite beam, and the formula for predicting the bend capacity is proposed and verified by comparing the results between predicted with the formula and the measured from the tests. Six specimens are also tested to study the shear behavior and the formula for estimating the shear capacity of the novel composite beam is recommended on the base of the test results. The formulas proposed in this paper may be employed to estimate the bend and shear capacity of the composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section for application in practice. Keywords: steel-concrete composite beam, concrete slab, inverted T-shaped steel beam, bend capacity, specimens, theoretical analysis, shear behavior

1. Introduction
The conventional composite beam is composed of steel beam with H-shaped section and concrete slabs, and headed studs are used as shear connectors to combine the steel beam and concrete slab together, as shown in Fig. 1(a) (Newmark et al., 1951; Johnson, 1975; Crisinel, 1990; Li and Li, 2009b). In H-shaped steel concrete composite beams, the top flange of the steel beam is at the vicinity of the neutral axis of the section, its stress level is low and its contribution to the moment-resistance of the composite beams is little (Li and Li, 2009c; Li et al., 2011; Li et al., 2009; Grant and Fisher, 1977). The steel-concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section is formed by removing the top flange of the H-shaped steel beam, which reduces the
Note.-Discussion open until February 1, 2013. This manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on December 22, 2010; approved on August 22, 2012. KSSC and Springer 2012 *Corresponding author Tel: +86-21-65985318; Fax: +86-21-65983431 E-mail: bright_li@chd.edu.cn

cost of steel and avoids the wielding process by replacing headed studs with the trapezoid connectors, generally designed to bear sagging moment, as shown in Fig. 1(b). In order to promote the application of the novel composite beam in engineering practice, it is necessary to study the bend and shear behavior of the steel-concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section. Compared with the H-shaped steel-concrete composite beam (Christopher, 2001; Li and Li, 2009a; Galambos, 2000; Roger, 1965; Brian, 2009; Eurocode 4, 1994), the following advantages are found in the steel-concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section: (1) About 20% of steel consumption may be reduced because the upper flange of H-shaped steel beam is removed; (2) the welding process of headed studs are avoided because the headed studs are replaced by trapezoid connectors; (3) Two T-shaped steel beams can be made by cutting along a trapezoid path on the web of one H-shaped steel beam, which would accelerate the fabrication, as shown in Fig. 2. Construction process of the inverted T-shaped steel beams. In order to study the behavior of the novel composite beam, a series of tests have been conducted in Tongji University. The shear behavior of the trapezoid connector

392

Guo-Qiang Li et al. / International Journal of Steel Structures, 12(3), 391-401, 2012

Figure 1. Steel-concrete composite beam with different connectors.

Figure 2. Construction process of the inverted T-shaped steel beams.

Figure 3. Construction of Embedded Composite Beams.

was tested through six specimens (Li and Li, 2009b), and the results showed that the shear capacity of the trapezoid connector was strong enough to pledge the fully shear connection between the concrete slab and steel beam. The pull-out behavior of the connector was also studied through the test of 6 pull-out specimens (Li and Li, 2009c), and the results showed that the pull-out capacity was much lager than 10% of the shear capacity, and the connector could supply enough pull-out capacity between that concrete slab and steel beam. However the steel beam with inverted T-shaped section is likely to laterally buckle at construction stage of the composite beam. For solving the problem, cushion blocks are proposed to be set at the flange of the steel beam with inverted T-shape section to

support the load during construction of the composite beam, as shown in Fig. 3. Construction of Embedded Composite Beams (Li et al., 2011). The experimental and analytical studies show that this measurement may keep the stability of the inverted T-shaped steel beam at construction stage (Li et al., 2009). As a kind of novel structural components, the behavior of the steel-concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section needs to be clearly identified for proper design and use. For this purpose, four specimens are tested to investigate the bend behavior, and six specimens are tested to study the shear behavior of the composite beam. Formulas for estimating the bend and shear capacities of the composite beam are proposed,

Experimental Study on the Bend and Shear Behaviors of Steel-concrete Composite Beams with Notched Web of ...

393

Figure 4. Detailing of the specimens ECB-1, ECB-2 (ECB-3, ECB-4). Table 1. Parameters of the specimens Specimens ECB-1 ECB-2 ECB-3 ECB-4 fcu (MPa) 24.4 30.9 24.4 30.9 L (mm) 3480 3480 3750 3750 H (mm) 320 320 380 380 b (mm) 160 160 200 200 a (mm) 80 80 100 100 h (mm) 70 70 80 80 d (mm) 240 240 300 300 Longitudinal steel rebar 8@100 8@100 8@100 8@100 Transverse steel rebar 8@80/160 8@80/160 10@100/200 10@100/200

Figure 5. Bend specimen and test set-up.

Figure 6. Arrangement of displacement meter.

and the effectiveness of formulas are verified by comparing the predicted results of the specimens tests with results measured from tests.

2. Study on the bend behavior

2.1. Experimental study 2.1.1. Specimens Tests are conducted on four specimens to identify the bend behavior of the composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section. The factors affecting the bend behavior of the composite beam including the cubic compressive strength of concrete which is determined by the average compressive strength of three cubic specimens with length 150 mm after 28 days curing by standard method, the height of composite beam, the size

of trapezoid connector and reinforcement rate are considered. The details of the specimens are presented in Fig. 4. The parameters of the specimens are tabulated in Table 1. In Table 1, fcu is the cubic compressive strength of concrete for the slab; L is the length of the specimen; H is the height of the composite beam; h is the height of trapezoid connector; a is the width of trapezoid connector on the bottom; b is the width of trapezoid connector on the top; and d is the distance between the middle axis of adjacent connectors. The yield strength of the steel for steel component is 300 MPa, and the elastic modulus is 2.0105 MPa. 2.1.2. Test set-up and measurement The tests are conducted in the Structural Laboratory of

394

Guo-Qiang Li et al. / International Journal of Steel Structures, 12(3), 391-401, 2012

Figure 7. Distribution of the strain gauges on the composite beam.

Figure 8. Development of the cracks on the concrete slab (vertical to the axis of the steel beam).

Tongji University. The specimen is simply supported and two point loads are applied to the specimens, as shown in Fig. 5. The measuring arrangement of the four specimens is the same. Ten displacement meters, as shown in Fig. 6, are used for the measurement. The displacement meters d1~d3 are set to measure the deflections of the specimen at the load point and mid-span. The displacement meters

d4~d7 are set to measure the lateral displacement of the specimen at supports. The slip of the specimen between the concrete slab and the steel beam are measured by displacement meters d8~d10. Strain gauges are set on the section of the specimen at the mid-span, as shown in Fig. 7(a); and also set on the surface of the concrete slab at the same section, as shown in Fig. 7(b).

Experimental Study on the Bend and Shear Behaviors of Steel-concrete Composite Beams with Notched Web of ...

395

Figure 9. Development of the cracks on the concrete slab (parallel to the axis of the steel beam).

Figure 10. Test curves of the composite beams.

2.1.3. Test phenomenon and results When the load is less than 0.2~0.4Pu (Pu is the capacity of the specimen at ultimate state) , no cracks are observed on the concrete slab, and the specimen is assured to be in elastic state. When the load reaches 0.6~0.7Pu, vertical cracks occur on the profile of concrete slab at the loading position, as shown in Fig. 8(a). With the increasing of the load, more vertical cracks emerge between two load positions, as shown in Fig. 8(b). The cracks at the bottom of concrete slab are observed at the load of 0.8~0.9Pu, as shown in Fig. 8(c). When the load reaches Pu, the specimens damage severely, as shown in Fig. 8(d). When measuring the relative slip between concrete slab and steel girder, it is observed that there is no slip observed at the load of 0.2~0.4Pu. When the load reaches 0.4~0.6Pu, slight slip is detected between steel beam and concrete slab and there is no crack observed on the concrete slab, which indicates that the specimens remain in elastic state. When the load reaches 0.7~0.8Pu, obvious slip are detected between steel beam and concrete slab, and longitudinal cracks emerge on the concrete slab, as shown in Fig. 9(a). When the load arrives at Pu, severe

cracks and damage are observed on the concrete slab, as shown in Fig. 9(b). Measured load-deflection curves of the 4 specimens are plotted in Fig. 10, which demonstrate that the specimens show highly nonlinear behavior after the initiation of cracking in the concrete slab. The fcu of concrete for specimens ECB-1and ECB-3 is 24.4 MPa, and the fcu for specimens ECB-2 and ECB-4 is 30.9 MPa. Except the compressive strength of concrete, specimen ECB-1 is the same as specimen ECB-2 and specimen ECB-3 is the same as specimen ECB-4. According to the test curves of the composite beams in Fig. 10, the ultimate bend capacity of the ECB-1and ECB-2 is very close, and also is the ECB-3and ECB-4, which shows that the ultimate bend capacity of composite beam is insensitive to the cubic compressive strength of concrete.

2.2. Estimation of ultimate bend capacity 2.2.1. Comparison between two types of composite beams The cross-sections of the traditional steel-concrete composite beam and novel composite beam with inverted

396

Guo-Qiang Li et al. / International Journal of Steel Structures, 12(3), 391-401, 2012

Figure 11. Two types of composite beams.

Figure 12. Classification of the composite beam with inverted T-shaped steel section.

T-shaped steel section have been presented in Fig. 11. After observation, it is known that the concrete slab and steel component are connected respectively by stud and trapezoid connector. The moment-resisting mechanism of the two kinds of composite beams is the same, and sectional moment would cause tensile and compressive stress in the section, and then the stress would be distributed to the concrete flange and steel component respectively. 2.2.2. Estimation of ultimate bend capacity Because the moment-resisting mechanism of two different composite beams is the same, the composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section may also be categorized into two types. The first type is that of the composite beam with the plastic neutral axis of

the section lying in the concrete slab, and the second kind is that with the plastic neutral axis of the section lying in the steel web, as shown in Fig. 12. (1) Bend capacity of the first type of the composite beam (GB50017, 2003) If the plastic neutral axis lies in concrete slab, it meets Af behc fc (1)

And according to the moment equilibrium, the bend capacity of the composite beam can be estimated with: M bexfc y (2)

where A is the area of the section of the steel component; f is the tensile strength of steel in design; fc is the compressive strength of concrete in design; M is the

Experimental Study on the Bend and Shear Behaviors of Steel-concrete Composite Beams with Notched Web of ...

397

sagging moment in the beam; be and hc are the effective width, the thick of compressive area of concrete slab, respectively; x is the height of compressive area of concrete slab, given by x=Af/(befc); y is the distance from the center of the steel section to the center of the compressive stress of concrete slab. (2) Bend capacity of the second type of the composite beam (GB50017, 2003) If the plastic neutral axis lies in the steel section, it meets Af > behc fc (3)

Table 2. Comparisons between theoretical and test results Specimens Test results (kN) Theoretical results (kN) Error (%) ECB-1 ECB-2 ECB-3 ECB-4 142.5 133.6 -6.3% 150.2 136.6 -9.3% 228.6 238.4 4.6% 235.4 244.9 4.2%

3. Study of Shear Behavior

3.1. Experimental study 3.1.1. Specimens In order to study the shear behavior of the composite beam with notched web of the inverted T-shaped steel section, six specimens are tested. The factors which may affect the shear behavior of the composite beam include the shear-span ratio , the cubic compressive strength of concrete, the height of concrete slab and the effective width. The parameters of specimens are tabulated in Table 3. The yield strength of the steel for steel component is 312 MPa, and the tensile strength is 372 MPa. In Table 3, fcu is the cubic compressive strength of concrete for the slab; be is the effective width of concrete slab; hf is the height of concrete slab; h0 is the effective height of the concrete slab; a is the shear-span of the composite beam defined as the length from loading point to near support, as shown in Fig. 13; b is the distance between two loading positions; is the ratio of the shearspan a to height of the composite beam; b is the ratio of a to h0.

In this case, the bend capacity of the component beam can be checked with: M behc fc y1+Ac fy2 (4)

where Ac is the compressive area of the steel section, given by Ac = 0.5(Abehc fc /f); y1 is the distance from the center of the steel section to the center of the compressive cross-sectional area of concrete slab; y2 is the distance from the center of the tensile area of the steel section to the center of the compressive area of the steel section.

2.3. Comparison between test and estimation The results predicted by Eqs. (2) and (4) are compared with the measured results, as given in Table 2. The predicted results agree quite well with the test results, which validate the applicability of the formulas in engineering practice.

Figure 13. Details drawing of web-embedded composite beam. Table 3. Parameters of the specimens for shear behavior tests Specimens SCB-1 SCB-2 SCB-3 SCB-4 SCB-5 SCB-6 fcu (N/mm2) 30.9 30.9 30.9 30.9 24.4 30.9 be (mm) 600 600 800 800 800 800 hf (mm) 120 120 120 120 120 130 h0 (mm) 100 100 100 100 100 110 a (mm) 480 800 480 800 480 495 b (mm) 1920 1280 1920 1280 1920 1890 1.5 2.5 1.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 b 4.8 8 4.8 8 4.8 4.5

398

Guo-Qiang Li et al. / International Journal of Steel Structures, 12(3), 391-401, 2012

Figure 14. Shear specimen and test set-up.

Figure 15. Arrangement of displacement meters.

Figure 16. Distribution of the strain gauges on the composite beam.

3.1.2. Test set-up and measurement The set-up of the shear test is similar to the set-up of the bend test. The specimen is simply supported. Compared with the bend test, the load positions of the shear test are close to the supports of the specimens, as shown in Fig. 14. The measuring arrangement of the six specimens is the same. Eleven displacement meters are used for the

measurement. Displacement meters d1~d3 are set to measure the deflections of the specimen at the load point and mid-span. Displacement meters d4~d7 are set to measure the slip between concrete slab and steel beam within half span of the specimen. Displacement meters d8~d11 are set to measure the vertical and horizontal displacements of the specimen at supports, as shown in Fig. 15.

Experimental Study on the Bend and Shear Behaviors of Steel-concrete Composite Beams with Notched Web of ...

399

Figure 17. Failure process of the composite slab with notched web.

Figure 18. Shear and mid-span deflection relationship curves of the test specimens.

Five strain gauges and eight strain rosettes are set on the three sections of the specimen, as shown in Fig. 16(a). Twenty one strain gauges are set on the surface of concrete slab, as shown in Fig. 16(b). 3.1.3. Test phenomenon and results When the shear reaches 0.51~0.61 Vu (Vu is the shear capacity of the specimen at ultimate state), some cracks

emerge at the bottom of the concrete slab, as shown in Fig. 17(a). With the increasing of the shear, the cracks expand further, and more vertical cracks appear on the profile of concrete slab, as shown in Fig. 17(b). The failure modes of specimen SCB-6 and specimen SCB-2 are respectively shear failure and bend failure, as shown in Fig. 17(c) and Fig. 17(d). The shear-slip curves of the specimens are plotted in

400

Guo-Qiang Li et al. / International Journal of Steel Structures, 12(3), 391-401, 2012

Table 4. Shear capacity of the specimens Specimens SCB-1 SCB-2 SCB-3 SCB-4 SCB-5 SCB-6 1.5 2.5 1.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 b 4.8 8 4.8 8 4.8 4.5 Vus,f (kN) 264.5 264.5 264.5 264.5 264.5 264.5 Vuc,f (kN) 39.8 30.1 51.6 40.2 34.2 63.1 Vu,f (kN) 304.3 294.6 316.1 304.7 298.7 327.6 Vus,f /Vu,f (%) 86.92 89.78 83.68 86.81 88.55 80.74 Vu,t (kN) 317 290 316 310 294 330 Error (%) 4.00 1.56 0.03 1.71 1.57 0.73

Fig. 18. The data of specimen SCB-2 is lost due to the failure of data collection. According to the measured curves, it can be seen that the ductility of the specimens is very fine, and the elastic shear capacity of the composite beam is at the range of 0.51~0.61 Vu.

3.2. Estimation of ultimate shear capacity The shear capacity Vu of the composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section is composed of the shear capacities of the steel beam and the concrete slab, which can be expressed as: Vu = Vuc + Vus
(5)

predict the shear capacity of the composite beam. In Table 4, Vuc,f is the shear capacity of the concrete flange by formula (6), Vus,f is the shear capacity of the steel beam by formula (7), and Vu,f is the shear capacity of the composite beam by formula (5); Vu,t is the shear capacity of the composite beam obtained by test. Error refers to the difference between Vu,f and Vu,t.

4. Conclusions
The bend and shear behaviors of the steel concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section respectively are systematically investigated by experiments in this paper. The conclusions may be drawn as follows: (1) The concrete slab may play significant role in bearing the moment in the section of the steel-concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section, and the ultimate bend capacity of composite beam is insensitive to the cubic compressive strength of concrete. (2) The elastic shear capacity of inverted T-shaped composite beam is about 0.51~0.61 of the ultimate shear capacity of the composite beam, and the steel beam takes the dominant role in bearing the shear in the section of the composite beam. (3) The ductility of the specimens for bend and shear is very well, and the failure mode is related to the shearspan ratio . The failure mode is shear type when equals to 1.5, and the failure mode is close to the bend type when equals to 2.5. (4) The formulas proposed in this paper may not only practical but also convenient to predict the bend and shear capacity of the novel composite beam, which can be applied in engineering practice.

where Vuc is the shear capacity of concrete slab; Vus is the shear capacity of steel component. The shear capacity of the steel beam can be given by (GB50017, 2003):

Vus = Awfv

(6)

where Aw is the cross-sectional area of the web of the steel beam; fv is yield strength of steel. The shear failure mechanism of the concrete flange is very complex, and it is difficult to put forward a reliable shear capacity formula by pure theory. In this paper, the shear capacity formula of the concrete flange is proposed based on the test results of the shear capacity which is acquired by nonlinear least squares regression analysis method, and the shear capacity formula is expressed as

(b 3.072) Vuc = 0.245 + 0.35 exp ---------------------------- ftbeh0 1.932

(7)

where ft is the tensile strength of concrete for the slab. The shear capacity of the composite beam specimens obtained from the formulas and test is tabulated in Table 4. It can be found that the error of the shear capacity of the novel composite beam by formula (5) is less than 4% compared with the test results, and formula (5) is suggested to predict to shear capacity in design. The shear capacity of the steel beam estimated with Eq. (6) accounts for at least 80% of the shear capacity of the composite beam, Vu, which demonstrates that the steel beam plays the dominant role for bearing the shear on the composite beam. But, it is conservative to use Eq. (6) to

Acknowledgments
The work reported hereinabove is financially supported by the ministry of science and technology of China through the projects SLDRCE08-A-06 and by the National Science Foundation of China through the project No. 50738005, which is gratefully acknowledged.

Experimental Study on the Bend and Shear Behaviors of Steel-concrete Composite Beams with Notched Web of ...

401

References
Brian, U. Y. (2009). Application behavior and design of composite steel-concrete beams subjected to combined actions. Proc. 9th International Conference on Steel Concrete Composite and Hybrid Structures (ASCCS2009), Leeds, UK, pp. 911-921. Christopher, H. (2001). Behavior of composite bridge decks with alternative shear connectors. Journal of Bridge Engineering, 6(1), pp. 17-22. Crisinel, M. (1990). Partial-interaction analysis of composite beams with profiled sheeting and non-welded shear connectors. Journal of Construction Steel Research, 15, pp. 65-98. Eurocode 4 (1994). Design of composite steel and concrete structures, Part1.1: General rules and rules for buildings. European Committee for Standardization. Galambos, T. V. (2000). Recent research and design developments in steel and composite steel-concrete structures in USA. Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 55(1), pp. 289-303. GB50017 (2003). Code for design of steel structures. China planning press (in Chinese). Grant, J. A. and Fisher, J. W. (1977). Composite beams with formed steel deck. Engineering Journal, 14(1), pp. 24-43. Johnson, R. P. (1975). Partial-interaction design of composite beams. The Structural Engineer, 3(8), pp. 1-21. Li, G., Li, L., and Li, X. (2011). Experimental and

theoretical study on the behavior of the steel-concrete composite beam with notched web of inverted T-shaped steel section at construction stage. International Journal of Advanced Steel Construction, 7(4), pp. 376-386. Li, G., Li, X., and Zhang, Z. (2009). Mechanical characteristics of steel-concrete composite beams with embedded webs during construction. China Civil Engineering Journal, 42(12), pp. 61-68 (in Chinese). Li, G. Q. and Li, X. H. (2009a). Study on a novel steelconcrete composite beam. Proc. ICASS '09/IJSSD/ IStructE Asia-Pacific Forum 6th International Conference on Advances in Steel Structures, Hong Kong, China, pp. 243-251. Li, X. and Li, G. (2009b). Push-out experimental study on shear connectors in embedded composite beams with notched web. Journal of Building Structures, 30(4), pp. 78-84 (in Chinese). Li, X. and Li, G. (2009c). Pull-out Experimental Study on Shear Connector in Embedded Composite Beams with Notched Web. Journal of Architecture and Civil Engineering, 26(1), pp. 43-48 (in Chinese). Newmark, N. M., Siess, C. P., and Viest, I. M. (1951). Test and analysis of composite beams with incomplete interaction. Experimental Stress Analysis, 9(6), pp. 896901. Roger, G. S. (1965). Flexural strength of steel-concrete composite beams. Journal of the Structural Division, 91(4), pp. 71-99.